Psalms 19:14

Let - Having prayed that God would keep him from sinful actions, he now prays that God would govern, and sanctify his words and thoughts: and this was necessary to preserve him from presumptuous sins, which have their first rise in the thoughts.

Let the words of my mouth,....

In singing this we should get our hearts much affected with the excellency of the word of God and delivered into it, we should be much affected with the evil of sin, the danger we are in of it and the danger we are in by it, and we should fetch in help from heaven against it.

Let the words of my mouth - He has prayed against practical sin, the sins of the body; now, against the sins of the mouth and of the heart. Let my mouth speak nothing but what is true, kind, and profitable; and my heart meditate nothing but what is holy, pure, and chaste. Acceptable in thy sight - Like a sacrifice without spot or blemish, offered up with a perfect heart to God.

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer." A sweet prayer, and so spiritual that it is almost as commonly used in Christian worship as the apostolic benediction. Words of the mouth are mockery if the heart does not meditate; the shell is nothing without the kernel; but both together are useless unless accepted; and even if accepted by man, it is all vanity if not acceptable in the sight of God.

The clearer our view of the law, the more manifest are our sins. Still for its full effect we need divine grace to show us our faults, acquit us, restrain us from the practice, and free us from the power, of sin.

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer." A sweet prayer, and so spiritual that it is almost as commonly used in Christian worship as the apostolic benediction. Words of the mouth are mockery if the heart does not meditate; the shell is nothing without the kernel; but both together are useless unless accepted; and even if accepted by man, it is all vanity if not acceptable in the sight of God. We must in prayer view Jehovah as our strength enabling, and our Redeemer saving, or we shall not pray aright, and it is well to feel our personal interest so as to use the word my, or our prayers will be hindered. Our near Kinsman's name, our Goel or Redeemer, makes a blessed ending to the Psalm; it began with the heavens, but it ends with him whose glory fills heaven and earth. Blessed Kinsman, give us now to meditate acceptably upon thy most sweet love and tenderness.

Let the words of my mouth - The words that I speak; all the words that I speak. And the meditation of my heart - The thoughts of my heart. Be acceptable in thy sight - Be such as thou wilt approve; or, be such as will be pleasing to thee; such as will give thee delight or satisfaction; such as will be agreeable to thee. Compare Pro 14:35; Isa 56:7; Isa 60:7; Jer 6:20; Exo 28:38; Lev 22:20-21; Lev 19:5. This supposes: (a) that God has such control over our thoughts and words, that he can cause us to order them aright; (b) that it is proper to pray to him to exert such an influence on our minds that our words and thoughts may be right and pure; (c) that it is one of the sincere desires and wishes of true piety that the thoughts and words may be acceptable or pleasing to God. The great purpose of the truly pious is, not to please themselves, or to please their fellow-men, (compare Gal 1:10), but to please God. The great object is to secure acceptance with him; to have such thoughts, and to utter such words, that He can look upon them with approbation. O Lord my strength - Margin, as in Hebrew, rock. Compare the note at Psa 18:2. And my redeemer - On the word used here, see the note at Job 19:25; compare Isa 41:14; Isa 43:14; Isa 44:6, Isa 44:24; Isa 47:4; Isa 63:16. […]